Why Alcohol, Heroine, Cocaine?

[Skwim]

God has nothing to do with it. Blame natural selection and historical genetics.

The premise of the OP is that god had everything to do with it. You and I know he didn't, but a whole lot of Christian believe he did.

 

[Glaurung]

Me! Skwim. A god? You have to be kidding.

You know well enough what I'm saying, and it is not a suggestion of any divinity on your part. Quite the opposite.

 

[arthra]

What could have been god's purpose in creating addictive drugs such as nicotine, alcohol, heroine, cocaine, etc?
And if they serve some reasonable purpose why make humans vulnerable to them?

Well in the case of alcohol there are more functions than imbibing in it... Alcohol can act as a fuel and an antiseptic... as to consuming it God has forbidden us Baha'is from drinking it, if a doctor prescribes alcohol that's another matter.

We're forbidden to use drugs not prescribed by a physician. Man is free to misuse drugs and inherently can deny God...

 

[Skwim]

You know well enough what I'm saying, and it is not a suggestion of any divinity on your part. Quite the opposite.

And I notice that you still haven't answered my question:

Do you think the punishment fits the crime?

Our " proclivity towards various infirmities and sin" and "the wages of sin, death," is justified by A&E's mistake in eating the apple.
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and none of this "No one can judge god" or any other such evasion.

 

[Skwim]

Well in the case of alcohol there are more functions than imbibing in it... Alcohol can act as a fuel and an antiseptic... as to consuming it God has forbidden us Baha'is from drinking it, if a doctor prescribes alcohol that's another matter.

We're forbidden to use drugs not prescribed by a physician. Man is free to misuse drugs and inherently can deny God...

But knowing humans would not heed such admonitions, why did god make humans addicted to them? It's like giving a book of matches to a child and telling him not to light them as you left the house. Smart? Hardly.

 

[Thana]

Common sense.

Why bother telling someone not to do something if you know they're going to do it?

Genesis 2:
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat;

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.”
​

Or do you think god was talking just to hear himself talk?

​

And I think you should read your Bible. Might want to start with the first chapter.

Well somebody is a Mr. Cranky Pants.

Your reasoning is not reasoning at all. Again, you're just assuming. And He bothered so that when they did it, they would know that they had disobeyed God.

 

[Thana]

Being addicted to drugs isn't a choice. There are psychological and physiological changes that affect the brain in such a way that the addict becomes dependent on the drug. Those changes are not within the addict's control. So while the first time shooting up may be a choice, the craving and addiction that results make ingestion of the drug a necessity.

I'm an ex-smoker, so I get addiction.
But every time I smoked, It was a concious choice. Even though quitting is hard, It's not impossible. And I understand the changes in the brain, but that doesn't make much of a difference. It's still a choice. And I know drug addiction is even harder to quit, but people do it, because they make the choice to quit.

I'm sorry but, there's no excuse. It's a choice.

 

[arthra]

But knowing humans would not heed such admonitions, why did god make humans addicted to them? It's like giving a book of matches to a child and telling him not to light them as you left the house. Smart? Hardly.

Fortunately some humans do heed admonitions .... and some children listen to their parents... right?

 

[Skwim]

. And He bothered so that when they did it, they would know that they had disobeyed God.

So let me get this straight. From the very outset god had planned to lay all kinds of sin and suffering on his creation. But because he cared so much about what his first two created subjects would think, he employed this odd ruse with the serpent and the apple so as to convince them it was all their fault. Nice guy, this god of yours. It's like giving your kid a defective toy you know will fall apart if played with, and when it does blame him for the result. Sheeesh!

 

[Skwim]

Fortunately some humans do heed admonitions .... and some children listen to their parents... right?

Fortunate for them, but they're not the ones we're talking about.

 

[Thana]

So let me get this straight. From the very outset god had planned to lay all kinds of sin and suffering on his creation. But because he cared so much about what his first two created subjects would think, he employed this odd ruse with the serpent and the apple so as to convince them it was all their fault. Nice guy, this god of yours. It's like giving your kid a defective toy you know will fall apart if played with it, and when it does blame him for the result. Sheeesh!

Let me put it this way, If He didn't have everything happen exactly as it did then you wouldn't be here today to whinge about it.

 

[Skwim]

Let me put it this way, If He didn't have everything happen exactly as it did then you wouldn't be here today to whinge about it.

In other words, he lacked the ability to do any differently. Okay, I can buy that: a handicapped god is in charge.

 

[psychoslice]

So when will you right every wrong you have said and done yourself? Also, when will you go back in time and do all the right things you should have done but didn't do them? Are you able to save yourself from your own wrongdoing?

I don't live my life in the past, the past is over, its finished, and yes I am the only one who can save myself, not someone who supposedly lived over two thousand years ago, he couldn't even save himself.

 

[Adramelek]

I don't ascribe any kind of religious aspects to it, but there was a time when I was addicted to narcotic pain meds like oxycodone and hydrocodone. I did about 7/8 lines of some really good cocaine one night and I really liked it, but never did it again. I've done crank before but it wasn't all that great. I drink alcohol quite often, especially on weekends but I don't drink to get drunk, just to get a good mild buzz. I've smoked weed in the past, a lot, but never got addicted. I've done LSD in the past, but never got addicted. I would do LSD again, I'd love to experience another awesome trip. I will never do heroine.

 

[Thana]

In other words, he lacked the ability to do any differently. Okay, I can buy that: a handicapped god is in charge.

......
Now you're just being obnoxious.

Have fun with that.

 

[Skwim]

......
Now you're just being obnoxious.

Have fun with that.

Hey, don't like the obvious conclusions your claims lead to, then don't make them. It's your story, not mine.

 

[Timothy Bryce]

Alcohol excepted, the rest are essentially pesticides. They're pharmacologically active because we share physiology with our predecessors/relatives

Where did you pull this garbage from?

 

[SkepticThinker]

I'm an ex-smoker, so I get addiction.
But every time I smoked, It was a concious choice. Even though quitting is hard, It's not impossible. And I understand the changes in the brain, but that doesn't make much of a difference. It's still a choice. And I know drug addiction is even harder to quit, but people do it, because they make the choice to quit.

I'm sorry but, there's no excuse. It's a choice.

The changes that take place in the brain and body actually make a huge difference. Why do you think recidivism rates are so high? It's not because people want or choose to become drug addicts. Your opinion disagrees with what I know about addiction. Just because you can quit doesn't make it a choice to become an addict in the first place.

I don't want to derail the thread so I will say no more.

 

[Thana]

The changes that take place in the brain and body actually make a huge difference. Why do you think recidivism rates are so high? It's not because people want or choose to become drug addicts. Your opinion disagrees with what I know about addiction. Just because you can quit doesn't make it a choice to become an addict in the first place.

I don't want to derail the thread so I will say no more.

It's not that much of a derailment but as you wish.
But I will say that everyone knows the risks involved, Whether they can appreciate them or not isn't really relevant.

 

[Cap'n MacDougal]

What could have been god's purpose in creating addictive drugs such as nicotine, alcohol, heroine, cocaine, etc?
And if they serve some reasonable purpose why make humans vulnerable to them?

I wouldn't advocate nicotine, alcohol, heroin or blow for anyone, but they've always worked for me.